Prof. Paul Dolan on the Food for Thought podcast and the pursuit of happiness

"We are under so much pressure to be happy. The market has exploded with self help happiness books and we see post after post on Instagram telling us to live our lives to the full. In times of adversity we’re told to ‘keep our chin up’ and ‘turn that frown upside down’. But is it truly possible to be happy all the time? Are human emotions like sadness and anger to be avoided at all costs, or are they in fact a fundamental component of human nature? And how can we be told to be happy 24/7 when in the same breath we’re also told not to be ashamed of negative emotions? Either way, with depression rates at an all time high and stress levels surging, it seems we haven’t quite got happiness figured out. Today I’m here with Paul Dolan, Professor of Behavioural Science and expert on human behaviour and happiness, to understand what truly makes us happy."Listen to the podcast here.